Dating back to January 2009 against Lynn University, Tampa has yet to fall short on its home hardwood. Head coach Tom Jessee begins his ninth season with the Spartans excited to see what the fate of his new group will be.
"New year, new team-same goals. We need to be hungry and protect our home court," says Jessee.
Tampa leads the all-time series record against Warner 3-0. UT defeated the Royals in its last meeting 94-48 as both Gianna Messina and Sarah Wickham totaled a team-high 17 points.
Leading the Sunshine State Conference pre-season poll runner-ups this year is senior Gianna Messina. The first team all-SSC and Daktronics second team all-South Regional candidate has already racked in a total of 875 points in her two year career at Tampa. Well on her way to break the 1,000 point mark, the captain led the pack in 3-point percentage and was second on the team in scoring last season.
Also returning from last year's regular season SSC champion squad is senior Taja Green. Starting in 29 games and scoring double figures in 20 as a junior, the Peoria, Ill. native begins the season as prepared as ever. "When we all get the system down I think we will be unstoppable. I am really excited about this senior year, and I am ready to leave it all on the court," says Green.
Returning as the only four-year letterman in the line-up, senior Catriana Messina returns as point guard. The 5-foot-5 captain appeared in all 31 contests last season helping the Spartans on the scoreboard in 28 games. Rounding out the upper classmen, junior Sarah Wickham returns to the roster averaging an impressive 46.2 percent in the 2009-10 season.
A member of the Sun Conference, head coach Matt Murphy enters his second season with the Royals. WU's Ivana Soberal leads Warner in scoring averaging 13.6 ppg last season. Ending the 2010 campaign 12-18, Murphy and his crew hope to compete at the Bob Martinez Sports Center Monday night.
Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.
Fans may also follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook(www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register atwww.tampaspartans.com.
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